Description

DATE OF RELEASE: 10 JUL 2025

The Sunday Times bestselling edge-of-your-seat exploration of what would happen in the event of nuclear war, perfect for readers of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer. Nuclear war begins with a blip on a radar screen. This is a minute-by-minute account of what comes next. It has to be read to be believed.

'A stomach-clenching, multi-perspective, ticking-clock, geopolitical thriller' Forbes

'Tells a terrifying story in a devastatingly straightforward way' Guardian

'These are scenes straight out of Dr Strangelove' Telegraph

There is only one scenario other than an asteroid strike that could end the world as we know it in a matter of hours: nuclear war.

Until now, no one outside official circles has known exactly what would happen if a rogue state launched a nuclear missile at the Pentagon. Second by second and minute by minute, these are the real-life protocols that choreograph the end of civilization. Decisions that affect hundreds of millions of lives need to be made within six minutes, based on partial information, in the knowledge that once launched, nothing is capable of halting the destruction.

Based on dozens of new interviews with military and civilian experts who have built the weapons, been privy to the response plans, and taken responsibility for crucial decisions, this is the only account of what a nuclear exchange would look like. Nuclear War is at once a compulsive non-fiction thriller and a powerful argument that we must rid ourselves of these world-ending weapons for ever.

'This terrifying book is a must-read for every world leader' Mother Jones

'At once methodical and vivid' The Economist

'Dangerously plausible – and it reads like a thriller' Sunday Times


Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2024, the UK's premier annual prize for non-fiction books.


Paperback 
Publication: 3 Jul 2025, Cornerstone 

ISBN: 9781804992562

Extent: 400 pages

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Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen (PRE-ORDER)

    DATE OF RELEASE: 10 JUL 2025 The Sunday Times bestselling edge-of-your-seat exploration of what would happen in the event of... Read more

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      Description

      DATE OF RELEASE: 10 JUL 2025

      The Sunday Times bestselling edge-of-your-seat exploration of what would happen in the event of nuclear war, perfect for readers of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer. Nuclear war begins with a blip on a radar screen. This is a minute-by-minute account of what comes next. It has to be read to be believed.

      'A stomach-clenching, multi-perspective, ticking-clock, geopolitical thriller' Forbes

      'Tells a terrifying story in a devastatingly straightforward way' Guardian

      'These are scenes straight out of Dr Strangelove' Telegraph

      There is only one scenario other than an asteroid strike that could end the world as we know it in a matter of hours: nuclear war.

      Until now, no one outside official circles has known exactly what would happen if a rogue state launched a nuclear missile at the Pentagon. Second by second and minute by minute, these are the real-life protocols that choreograph the end of civilization. Decisions that affect hundreds of millions of lives need to be made within six minutes, based on partial information, in the knowledge that once launched, nothing is capable of halting the destruction.

      Based on dozens of new interviews with military and civilian experts who have built the weapons, been privy to the response plans, and taken responsibility for crucial decisions, this is the only account of what a nuclear exchange would look like. Nuclear War is at once a compulsive non-fiction thriller and a powerful argument that we must rid ourselves of these world-ending weapons for ever.

      'This terrifying book is a must-read for every world leader' Mother Jones

      'At once methodical and vivid' The Economist

      'Dangerously plausible – and it reads like a thriller' Sunday Times


      Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2024, the UK's premier annual prize for non-fiction books.


      Paperback 
      Publication: 3 Jul 2025, Cornerstone 

      ISBN: 9781804992562

      Extent: 400 pages

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